1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pipe bender, and more particularly to a manual pipe bender to bend metal pipe, which is easily operated.
2. Description of Related Art
With reference to FIG. 7, a conventional manual pipe bender (80) has a stationary handle (81), a head (84), a bending handle (82) and a bending lever (85).
The stationary handle (81) has a distal end and a pipe grip (83). The pipe grip (83) is formed on the distal end of the stationary handle (81) and holds a pipe securely in the manual pipe bender (80).
The head (84) is essentially a thick disk, is attached to the stationary handle (81), corresponds to the pipe grip (83) and has a center, an outer edge, a central pivot hole and a pipe groove. The central pivot hole is formed through the center of the head (84). The pipe groove is formed in the outer edge of the head (84) and corresponds to the pipe grip (83).
The bending handle (82) is attached pivotally to and presses against the head (84) and has a distal end and a bending die. The bending die is attached to the distal end of the bending handle (82), abuts the outer edge of the head (84), presses against a pipe in the bending groove and has a transverse pivot hole and a bending surface. The transverse pivot hole is formed through the bending die. The bending surface slidably presses against the outer edge of the head (84) and bends a pipe in the bending groove when the bending handle (82) is pulled.
The bending lever (85) is connected pivotally to the head (84) and the bending die and has a proximal end, a distal end and two mounting pins. The proximal end is attached pivotally to on the center of the head (84). The distal end is attached pivotally to the bending die. The mounting pins are attached respectively to the proximal and distal ends of the bending lever (85) and are mounted rotatably respectively in the central hole through the head (84) and the transverse hole through the bending die.
Even though the conventional manual pipe bender (80) can bend pipe, the conventional manual pipe bender (80) has the following shortcoming.
To bend acute angles in pipes, the handles (81, 82) must cross. Therefore, operation of the conventional pipe bender (80) is very awkward when bending pipes to acute angles.